Governor of Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, has appealed to Imo leaders, particularly the Church and traditional rulers, to be part of efforts by government and her development partners to ensure that the citizens get vaccinated against Covid-19.

He has also challenged them to organise town hall meetings aimed at getting their subjects and parishioners to buy into the ongoing campaign on vaccination against Covid-19.

Addressing Imo State Covid-19 Stakeholders Engagement Meeting at the Sam Mbakwe Chamber, Government House Owerri, Wednesday, the Governor explained that Covid-19 vaccination has been tested all over the world and that most prominent and important persons, leaders of nations and states, have "successfully taken the vaccine, proving that it is safe and to our advantage."

Governor Uzodimma told the participants to help appeal to the people to come out and be vaccinated so as to "save their lives, that of their family, community, State and Nation at large."

The Governor who said himself, the wife and members of the Executive Council of Imo State have all been vaccinated, appealed to Church leaders to provide a place for the health workers every Sunday to vaccinate their congregation.

In the same vein, he enjoined the traditional rulers to make available their Civic Centre and other gathering places in their Communities for their people to be vaccinated by the health workers who are currently in the field for the assignment, emphasizing that "it is the responsibility of all to collaborate, mobilize and sensitize our people to come forward to be vaccinated."

The Governor said: "We need the help of the religious and traditional rulers, the Caritas Foundation, the Civil Society Organizations, Civil Servants and the Media to achieve a reasonable percentage of the population vaccination against Covid-19."

The Governor appealed to the media to bring to bear their role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by writing positive reports about the Covid-19 vaccine that will encourage the people to voluntarily submit to the vaccination exercise.

“We are begging you to choose to be alive, be protected by being vaccinated."

The Governor thanked the partners, especially the United States of America, who have been at the fore front of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic for coming to rescue Africa, Nigeria and Imo State in particular from the clutches of the pandemic.

He added that the only way to encourage the development partners and the donor nations to do more is by appreciating their gesture by turning up to be vaccinated so that their efforts will not be in vein.

He charged the Medical Team and others involved in the vaccination to discharge their responsibility to the people by owning the programme and to see it as part of their contribution to humanity.

Addressing the Stakeholders, the United States Deputy Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Mrs. Kathleen FitzGibbon said they were in Imo State in continuation of the work of mobilization and sensitization of the people towards Covid-19 vaccination programme.

She noted that the United States Government had given 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Nigeria, insisting that ‘’the more people are vaccinated the more Covid-19 gets behind us."

“We need to be vaccinated, to be protected against the pandemic.”

She thanked Governor Uzodimma for his concerted efforts in the fight against Covi-19 pandemic in the State and also commended the State Ministry of Health, the Primary Health Care Agency and development partners for the harmony that exists among them "which has resulted in the successes so far recorded."

She appealed to them to keep up the efforts and good works towards mobilization and sensitization of the people in the areas of the vaccine being safe when taken.

She also called on the traditional rulers, Christian and Muslim leaders in the State to do more work on their followers to accept the vaccine as a safe guard against Covid-19 pandemic, adding, “do more on those who are hesitant.”

In his welcome address, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Prosper Success thanked the participants, and especially the Governor, the U. S. officials and development partners for providing an enabling environment and necessary resources to his team, that has made it possible for them to record a some successes.

He emphasised the need to take the Covid-19 vaccination more seriously.

In a presentation, the Executive Secretary Imo State Primary Healthcare, Rev. Sr. Dr. Maria-Joannes Uzoma said that "with the launching of the community vaccination healthcare programme the State has been able to record a higher percentage of the Covid-19 vaccination in the 27 Local Government of the State."

She however enumerated challenges her team is facing in some Local Governments to include security, hesitancy and traditional belief.

In their different messages, a representative of the Church, Bishop Enyinnaya Okoroafor; a Traditional Ruler, Eze Clinton Ugwuegbulem and the Country Representative World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Bassey Uwazinga, thanked the Governor for his dexterity and swift approach towards the fight agaist Covid-19 in Imo State that made the State to record the least cases in the Federation.

They promised that they will continue to collaborate and do the needful in convincing their people to accept vaccination as a way out of the negative consequences of Covid-19.

•PHOTO: Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State with the United States of America Deputy Chief of Mission, Kathleen FitzGibbon when the latter attended a Covid-19 vaccination programme at Government House Owerri...Wednesday

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